Texas Democrats, after decades in the wilderness, find reason for hope at Obama inauguration

The Lone Star Project premiered this video at its rollicking Sunday afternoon event at Hill Country Barbecue in downtown Washington.

Texas Democrats haven’t had a lot to cheer about in recent years.

As San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro is quick to remind you, the political score in Texas is 29-0. In favor of the Republicans.

That means 29 Republicans in statewide offices; zero Democrats.

But amid the glitz and glamor of the second Obama inauguration, celebratory Texas Democrats — including Castro — are beginning to think that they might just have a pathway to political competitiveness in the Lone Star State.

“I’m telling you: In six to eight years, Texas is going to be a Democratic state,” Castro told several hundred enthusiastic Democratic partisan feasting on beef brisket at D.C.’s popular Hill Country Barbecue joint.

Five new Democratic members of Congress — including three Latinos and an African American — are giving party activists reason to hope that they can compete in Texas sooner than the pundits are now predicting.

“It’s not going to be pretty. It’s not going to be easy. But it can be done,” said freshman Rep. Marc Veasey of Fort Worth.

There’s a long way for Democrats to go. The last Democratic senator, Lloyd Bentsen of Houston, was elected in 1988. The party’s last governor, Ann Richards, won a squeaker 23 years ago. Texas Gov. Rick Perry knocked off the last Democratic statewide officeholder, John Sharp, in the 1998 lieutenant governor’s race.

Since then, well, there hasn’t been much for Democrats to celebrate. But Texas Democrats, gathered to celebrate the historic re-election of the nation’s first African American president, believe that the state’s changing demographics, increasing support for Democrats among young voters and Texas newcomers, and the Texas GOP’s hard-right governing agenda will make the state competitive within six years.

“You see the palpable excitement of what’s about to happen in Texas,” said former state Rep. Glen Maxey of Austin, who drove to Washington with four members of the University of Texas College Democrats. “We’ve been in the desert for so long. It’s great to see an oasis.”

While Texas Democrats are spending their time on the Potomac talking about state politics, they also are feting the Democratic president who won an overwhelming Electoral College victory in November — albeit without any help from deep red Texas.

Maxey, the first openly gay member of the Texas Legislature, is particularly proud of Obama’s move to end discrimination against gays and lesbians in the military.

“The progress made for LGBT rights under President Obama is huge,” he said. “But for me and the kids that I brought, there’s still so much to be done.”

Maxey’s crew, who volunteered at a coveted event featuring new Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and celebrity-turned-senator Al Franken of Minnesota, also is hoping for enactment of comprehensive reform in Obama’s second term. The reason: One of the UT students is a so-called “Dreamer” who was brought into the country illegally by his parents.

He drove to D.C. rather than flying for fear of being held by immigration officials and forced to leave the only country he has ever known.

“He won’t be able to take the (Texas) Bar Exam unless we get comprehensive immigration reform,” Maxey noted.

Among the other up-and-coming Democrats honored at today’s event were Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia and Fort Worth state Sen. Wendy Davis. Former congressman Nick Lampson of Beaumont, Martin Frost of Dallas, Jim Turner of Crockett and Chet Edwards of Waco were on hand to cheer on the next generation.

“I am thrilled,” said Lampson, who was defeated last November by freshman Republican Rep. Randy Weber of Pearland. “Everybody from home is showing as much enthusiasm (at the event) as they felt when they were at the national convention.”

The event’s host, Matt Angle, founder of the Lone Star Project, called Obama’s re-election “good for every American and it’s good for every Texan.”

“Democrats represent the mainstream views of most Texans,” said Angle, whose group has been prominent in battles over redistricting and the Voter Photo ID law. “The Republican leadership in Texas is far outside the mainstream.”